Rs 5 lakh cover for 10 cr poor families announced under Ayushman Bharat
Rs 5 lakh cover for 10 cr poor families announced under Ayushman Bharat
New Delhi: Terming it as the world's largest government funded healthcare programme, Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday announced the National Health Protection Scheme under which Rs 5 lakh cover will be provided a year to 10 crore poor and vulnerable families in the country.
"We are now launching a flagship national health protection scheme to cover 10 crore poor and vulnerable families. This is approximately 50 crore beneficiaries, by providing them up to Rs 5 lakh per family per year for secondary and tertiary care hospitalisation," Jaitley said presenting the 2018-19 Union Budget.
Emphasising that the initiative would take healthcare protection to a new aspirational level, Jaitley said the initiative was part of Ayushman Bharat and adequate funds will be provided for its smooth implementation.
"This was aimed at making path breaking interventions to address health holistically, in primary, secondary and tertiary care systems, covering both prevention and health promotion," said Jaitley.
Under the Ayushman Bharat, the government has also decided to fund Rs 1,200 crore for 1.5 lakh health wellness centres across the nation. The decision to convert the Primary Health Centres into wellness centres was taken in last fiscal budget (2017-18). However, the money was not allocated for it.
The healthcare industry termed the government's National Health Protection Scheme as an out of the box idea, saying that it will emerge a boon for the beneficiaries.
Jaitley stated that the two schemes will also generate lakhs of jobs, particularly for women.
According to Healthcare Foundation of India (NATHEALTH), a body focused to develop and optimize healthcare infrastructure, the National Health Protection Scheme will go a long way to achieve the goals of Universal Health Coverage.
Jaitley as part of the union budget (2018-19) also announced Rs 600 crore for nutritional support of Tuberculosis patients in India.
"The Government also decided to allocate additional Rs 600 crore to provide nutritional support to all TB patients at the rate of Rs 500 per month for the duration of their treatment," said Jaitley.
A total of 24 new government medical colleges have also been announced as part of the new initiative for health by the government.
"To enhance accessibility of quality medical education and health care, 24 new Government Medical Colleges and Hospitals will be set up, by up-grading existing district hospitals in the country," said Jaitley.
According to the finance minister, this move would ensure that there is at least one Medical College for every three Parliamentary Constituencies and at least one Government Medical College in each state of the country.
He said the government has provided affordable medicines through more than 3,000 Jan Aushadhi centres; reduced prices of stents; and provided free dialysis services for the poor.
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'I am calling it off': Arijit Singh retires from playback singing
New Delhi (PTI): "I am calling it off, it was a wonderful journey," said Arijit Singh on Tuesday, announcing that he will not be taking up any new assignments as a playback singer, a decision that sent shockwaves across his fan base.
In a message shared on his social media pages, Singh said he has decided to step away from playback singing, a move that comes at the peak of his career as one of the most popular and in-demand voices in Hindi cinema.
“Hello, Happy New Year to all. I want to thank you all for giving me so much love all these years as listeners. I am happy to announce that I am not going to be taking any new assignments as a playback vocalist from now on. I am calling it off. It was a wonderful journey,” he wrote.
The 38-year-old, however, clarified that he would continue to make music independently and complete existing commitments.
“God has been really kind to me. I am a fan of good music and in future will be learning more and do more on my own as a small little artist. Thanks again for all your support. I still have to finish some pending commitments, will finish them. So you might get some releases this year. Just to be clear that I won’t stop making music,” he added.
While Singh did not elaborate on the reasons behind his decision, the announcement was met with disbelief with many fans expressing their dismay in the comments section.
"Too soon sir, can’t be real," wrote one user.
Another person said, "This cannot be true."
"Arreey but whyyyyyy ??????? Why are you doing this to us ??? Please don’t go man. We need you for atleast 20 more years," read a comment.
Singh's rise in the Indian music industry has been nothing short of meteoric.
He started out as a contestant on reality show “Fame Gurukul” in 2005 and made his playback debut in 2011 with “Phir Mohabbat” from the Emraan Hashmi-starrer "Murder 2".
He broke into the big league with the soulful hit “Tum Hi Ho” from “Aashiqui 2” in 2013. The success of the song made him a household name.
After that, Singh quickly became the voice of many moods, be it love, heartbreak or happiness. He went on to deliver a string of chartbusters such as “Channa Mereya”, “Agar Tum Saath Ho”, “Raabta”, “Kesariya”, “Gerua”, “Ae Dil Hai Mushkil” and "Chaleya".
Over the years, he has lent his voice to nearly all of Hindi cinema’s leading stars -- from superstars Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan to actors like Ranbir Kapoor and Ranveer Singh.
Singh recorded songs in multiple Indian languages, including Hindi, Bengali, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Marathi, and collaborated with leading composers and filmmakers.
His work earned him numerous Filmfare Awards, including multiple Best Male Playback Singer honours.
In July last year, Singh edged past global pop stars Taylor Swift and Ed Sheeran to emerge the most followed artist on music streaming platform Spotify with 151 million followers.
